Apparently February 7, 2017 was a less than stellar day in the life as on that day Eric was arrested for domestic violence (battery) against Carol.

Per a police report (part of which you can see below) Carol flagged down a cop in the street and told him that she has been beaten up by her live in beau after he had failed to perform to sexual standards.

Carol admitted saying to Eric that "you're not a man, you're a mouse", after which she claims that he punched her in the face, bit her on the forearm and beat her on the back with a dildo. (Note that the picture below is an illustration and is NOT the dildo in question. In point of fact no dildo was ever recovered from Carol and Eric's trailer.)

The officer noted that Carol was intoxicated, photographed her injuries (which were apparently limited to facial bruising) and called Fire Rescue to attend to her; afterward an interview of an admittedly "shitfaced" Eric (which, perhaps, explains Eric's alleged inability to perform to Carol's standards) resulted in a denial of Carol's allegations and Eric's arrest for misdemeanor domestic violence battery. Note that after being treated by Fire Rescue Carol reportedly asked that Eric not be arrested, but that plea fell on deaf ears.

Note also that both Carol and Eric reportedly have extensive criminal histories and both were under the influence of alcohol during their trailer home scuffle.

Memo to the Folks:Domestic Violence (DV) cases present wrinkles for everyone in the system (the Defendant, the State and the Court), as they almost always involve emotional charged folks who's lives are either interdependent or interconnected, the potential for repeat or escalated violence is almost always high and there is more often then not the likelihood that a victim will, for whatever reasons, wish not to prosecute the perpetrator. For these reasons, in FL DV cases Defendant's suffer aggressive prosecution (more aggressive than many other offenses), the State feels obligated to "force" all victim's to "help themselves" (which serves the dual purpose of covering its own ass in the event of a subsequent violent altercation) and the Court engages in pure self-protection (no Judge wants to read her/his name in the paper as being responsible for "cutting loose" the repeat DV offender who re-injures, more seriously injures or kills a victim when the Court could have acted to prevent the same from occurring). These are the practical realities of DV cases that we all must live with and it is for these reasons that there is a mandatory 24 hold (a statutorily required cooling-off period) for anyone booked into a FL jail for any DV case and that DV victim's are afforded special protections, are required to be evaluated (if only by responding officers who have a DV "checklist") and are required to be provided information about alternatives to returning to "life" with the alleged perpetrator).

Memo to the Folks continued: Fortunately, in many cases, and particularly those where the offense did not result in any serious injury and ultimately amounted to an unfortunate but otherwise understandable incident, there are a few ways to try to effect the State's decision to prosecute. In Florida the State Attorney is empowered to bring criminal charges to bear on behalf of all of the people of the State, the victim being only one of those millions of people (albeit usually an important one to the success of their case), but, if you do not wish to cooperate with the State, then you are entitled to have them consider your wishes. In Florida victims of crimes have rights, both constitutional (s. 16, Art. I of the Florida's State Constitution) and by statute. If you want to increase your odds at having the State pursue your interests then you can hire your own criminal defense lawyer to serve as your Victim's Right's Advocate. Again, no one can control what the State does on behalf of the people, but you will increase your odds at achieving a favorable outcome if you have an effective victim's rights advocate pursuing your agenda. Many criminal defense lawyers serve as effective victim's rights advocates.

Memo to the Folks continued: You cannot control what any other person either says or does; you can only control who you choose to react. When it comes to the subject of domestic violence BE SMART and walk away.

When it comes to the subject of "Cops, Courts and Constitutions" you should always have a skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney who is focused on serving your interests. While we can't stop the cops from arresting you, as your legal counsel Michael A. Haber, PA will ensure that your rights are respected from the moment that representation begins and that any abuses which may have occurred beforehand are remedied.

THIS BLOG POST (AS ARE ALL OF HABERPA BLOG POSTS) IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT WHICH IS PRIMARILY DESIGNED, BY WAY OF REAL WORLD EXAMPLE, TO ASSIST THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN AVOIDING CONDUCT WHICH COULD FORESEEABLY RESULT IN ARREST AND PROSECUTION!